I'd appreciate help understanding the meaning of the abbreviation ’’ח (chet) before a father's name on a gravestone.  (Please note that the '' are not yuds but my best representation of the faint diacritics following the chet.)  This appears where I'd normally expect רב or ר as an honorific before a man's name.  I've looked at sources which have been helpful in the past but haven't found any information explaining its meaning.

The inscription, appearing on the 5th line of the attached photo, reads סטישע פראדע בת ח׳׳ מרדכי הכהן (Stishe Frade daughter of x" Mordicai HaKohein)

Thanks for your help,

Lee Jaffe
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Surnames / Towns:  Jaffe / Suchowola, Poland ; Stein (Sztejnsapir) / Bialystok and Rajgrod ; Roterozen / Rajgrod ; Joroff (Jaroff, Zarov) / Chernigov, Ukraine ; Schwartz (Schwarzstein) / Ternivka, Ukraine ;  Weinblatt / Brooklyn, Perth Amboy, NJ ; Koshkin / Snovsk, Ukraine ; Rappoport / ? ; Braun / Wizajny, Suwalki,  Ludwinowski / Wizajny, Suwalki

Sorry ...  I forgot to include image of the headstone .https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107332479/chila-koshkin
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Lee David Jaffe
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Surnames / Towns:  Jaffe / Suchowola, Poland ; Stein (Sztejnsapir) / Bialystok and Rajgrod ; Roterozen / Rajgrod ; Joroff (Jaroff, Zarov) / Chernigov, Ukraine ; Schwartz (Schwarzstein) / Ternivka, Ukraine ;  Weinblatt / Brooklyn, Perth Amboy, NJ ; Koshkin / Snovsk, Ukraine ; Rappoport / ? ; Braun / Wizajny, Suwalki,  Ludwinowski / Wizajny, Suwalki

Could the chet stand for "chaver", an honorific for a very distinguished rabbi? My wife's ancestor, a rabbi, was called "chaver".
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Yehuda Berman

"Chaver" was used in the Labor movement (esp. kibbutz) to indicate a member of the community. However, I believe that here it stands for "Chacham" (smart, educated, intelligent) that was common among the Mizrachim communities
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Meir Razy
meir.razy@...
Searching:
Kisfajn / Sfard / Rothenberg / Ruttenberg / Rojtenberg in Rovno,Volhynia
Ross in Dubno,Volhynia

Thanks for the suggested “chaver” which seems the most likely usage in this scenario.  I was able to find a helpful reference to its significance via a Google search:

“Regulations of The Synagogue ‘Altneuschule’ In Prague In Their Historic Context” which I quote: 

“In 18th Century Germany, there were two degrees of rabbinical ordination: the higher degree, using the title ‘moreinu’—our teacher or guide—given to scholars who devoted all their time to Torah study even after marriage and intended to serve the Rabbinate or as a Yeshiva teacher. The lower degree—chaver—was given to students before marriage who intended to take up a trade other than the Rabbinate.” (Gevaryahu & Sicherman 2010) 

Thank you.  --  Lee Jaffe

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Lee,

I concur with all of the above and also when I was just as stumped, I appreciated the same explanation in the same paper. 

What I also have learned, is that a chaver had sufficient knowledge that in the event a rabbi could not be consulted on a specific issue, a chaver could also rend an opinion.  So, Yes, they were esteemed in a community.

Hope that helps.
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Some thoughts on the previous responses:

1)  When "Chaver" is used in front of a person's name to indicate that he had received the honor bestowed in German Jewish communities upon men who had served the religious community for many years, it is usually given as "heChaver", "THE Chaver".  In addition, and I know that I am generalizing here, the names appear to me to be more Eastern European, rather than German.

2)  Chacham is, as indicated, a title used in Mizrachi communities.  Again, the names here do not appear to be Mizrachi/Sephardic.

3)  Of the comments made, the one that I would lean towards is plain "Chaver", in its translation as a type of "comrade" (Labor/Zionist movement?).
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Fredel Fruhman
Brooklyn, New York, USA

I respectfully disagree with your reading of the gravestone.
I think it IS a 'resh'(ר) and not a 'khet'(ח).  The added 'leg' to the 'resh' is, IMHO, just a streak on the gravestone or on the photograph.
Look at the other 'khets' on the gravestone.
The only way to be sure is to see and 'braille' the gravestone itself.
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Steve Goldberg
Jerusalem, Israel
Researching:
Sagan/Shagan family from Veliuona (Velon), Lithuania
Goldberg family from Vidukle, Lithuania
Susselovitch/Zuselovitch family from Raseiniai (Rassein), Lithuania